The Red and Black

Issue date: 4/2/09 Section: Sports

DANCEVIC

If you've ever seen Monika Dancevic rip a forehand winner, you'll notice her front foot comes six inches off the ground.

But not even the SEC's tennis player of the week remembers how she began doing it or why it happens.

"You know, I never really used to think about it until [assistant coach] Frank [Polito] or [head coach] Jeff [Wallace] mentioned it. All the guys always make fun of me for doing it," Dancevic said.

Even though Dancevic loses some force by shifting her weight to her back foot on the forehand side, she is still able to generate a strong, powerful forehand.

"I talk [to her] a lot about balance and being forward. I think it's just something that she's naturally done for quite a while," Wallace said. "She's got a natural tendency she's developed. There's times when she does it, and it's actually very effective and really good ... For the most part, she's got a great forehand, and it really is a weapon, and it's not something we're going to tinker with too much."

If she misses on a forehand, Dancevic is sure to hear about it from her teammates and even Polito.

Said Dancevic: "It's kind of like an inside joke with everyone on the team. Frank will be like, 'Get that leg up higher on [that forehand] next time,' if I miss a shot."

SEC regular season title: Entering its match last Friday against LSU, Georgia looked to be in a tight battle for the regular season SEC title as six teams each carried one loss heading into the weekend.

Just a week later, after the Bulldogs won two crucial SEC matches over LSU and Arkansas, Georgia (15-2, 5-1 SEC) sits atop the standings in the SEC and controls its destiny in pursuit of its fourth SEC regular season crown since 2000.

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